‘Lagos needs N60b for water projects’

The Lagos State Government requires about N60 billion to execute its water projects, Commissioner for the Environment Dr Babatunde Adejare has said.

He said: “Water production is not cheap. No one believes that our population will be over 20 million. We have so many people in Lagos. The state government is working hard daily to meet resident’s water need. We have a deficit of 500 million gallon daily. To construct the 70-million gallon water Adiyan 11 will cost the state N60 billion.’’

Although the Adiyan 11 water project is about 70 per cent completed, Adejare said this facility can still not meet the water need of the state. “Igbo-nla water plant is still there and the projects will cost the state huge sums of money,” he lamented.

Adejare said as part of its ongoing solid waste management reform, the state government was set to construct world-class Engineered Sanitary/Engineered Hazardous Landfills and Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) sites in various locations across the state.

The Commissioner revealed that the Engineered Sanitary/Engineered Hazardous Landfills will be constructed under the Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model to provide an efficient and effective final disposal for all waste generated in the state.

“These new facilities would ensure the protection of public health and the local environment, the global environment as well as provide an efficient and effective final disposal option for all waste generated in the state through design and operations that mitigate water, odour, and noise pollutions”, he said.

Adejare said the approved Sanitary landfill site would be designed with technology that mitigate water, odour and noise pollution as well as control vermin, wind-blown litters, and dust, including also maximising, capturing and using landfill gas emissions, while providing land-fill based opportunities for material recovery.